On Google, Cain buys 'Ginger White'

By Ben Smith

11/30/11 05:34 PM EST

A source sends over this screenshot of a Google search from yesterday, with a promoted Cain ad showing up when users in Iowa search “Ginger White.”

It’s not the first time the Cain campaign has used online and social-media advertising to its advantage. The New York Times noted the campaign’s use of a promoted tweet during the initial round of sexual harassment allegations:

Not long after Politico broke the story of the harassment accusations on Oct. 30, Mr. Cain’s campaign took to Twitter to help rebut them. In addition to tweeting to their 157,000 followers from their own account, @thehermancain, the Friends of Herman Cain Inc. bought a message on Twitter using one of the political advertising products made available to campaigns in September called “promoted tweets.”

So whenever people searched for Herman Cain on Twitter, they got a message from his campaign with a small logo and disclaimer that read: “From Team HC: Sadly, we’ve seen this movie played out before. Mr. Cain and all Americans deserve better http://bit.ly/uU0j7a”.